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All of this innovation is coming out of the unlikely city of Detroit, where six of the startup's seven teammates are based -- everyone but Felous, who is based in New York. "The fundamental mission of Glyph is to help people improve their personal financial situations," says Vichich. "In that spirit, we think it's possible to be an innovative, profitable company that does good for society. We want to have an impact on the economy of Detroit, but we also want to show that an enterprising, smart company can be on a national scale here, and ultimately, encourage others to join us."

All that said, Vichich is a straight shooter confirming that this isn't just a feel-good story. Glyph, a current participant in the Yodlee incubator program, has also parked itself in Detroit for a number of business reasons. "We can find excellent talent from the universities nearby, including Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Wayne State," he says. "Moreover, our burn rate is probably 33-50% less here than it would be on either coast."

That's the kind of talk you'd expect from the CEO of a finance app, especially one with five-plus years of Accenture financial consulting experience, who also runs a web development training program called Develop Detroit, aimed at inspiring and training Detroit's up-and-coming tech entrepreneurs and technologists.

Sounds like Glyph's leadership team has its head in the right place. Let's see how its idea fares.